Providing electricity to poor households in rural areas in Ethiopia is critical to improving the health and living conditions of the population, reducing poverty, and stimulating growth. A project supported by the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA) is accelerating the pace of connections in electrified areas and fostering energy efficiency.

In 2008, a GPOBA grant of $8 million was signed to accelerate the pace of connections among grid customers by making the connection charge affordable to the poor population through a credit scheme, and